Aurora Goncalves and Professor Catherine Black, Dance Department
My project, entitled, “Multiculturalism and Dance Fusion” was a choreographic work of art that included different dance genres with a variety of rhythms to portray the culture of Brazil through the language of movement.
The purpose of my project was to build bridges between Brazil and BYU. I decided to address multiculturalism through dance for various reasons. One of them is that almost everyone can “read” and interpret dance. I have studied dance for twenty two years now. I have danced professionally in my native country, Brazil, before I had decided to expand my studies in the art of dance at Brigham Young University. I had opportunities to work with remarkable choreographers and was given the opportunity to tour throughout the world. Having had that experience, doors of understanding and of curiosity to other cultures were opened to me. I became fascinated with discovering new cultures and sharing my own culture with others. It was not until my ORCA proposal was accepted that I realized how important multiculturalism is, especially in the American Continent. I say that because, my final goal for the project, was to share a message that we are all sons and daughters of the same God, and that we share of same values with only a difference in cultures.
I began with my artistic and choreographic ideas long before the project was finished. I certainly am much grateful for my cast members, Anthony Aiu, Alyssa Smith, Angela Green, Brittany moody, Colin Holbrook, Joshua Murry, Kristen Jettsen, Rachel Lanham, Shane Jensen, Traci Finch, and Vincent Runyan. These are professional level dancers, who are currently studying dance at BYU. The choreographic process was smooth because of their contributions, their discipline, their potential, their talent, and especially, their humble and loving spirits. The rehearsals ran for about two hours, three times a week for one entire smester.
I personally selected the dancers and invited each one of them to participate in the project. When choosing my cast members, I was looking for versatile dancers. I was searching for dancers that were trained in ballet and that could move to Brazilian rhythms. Therefore, I had a few cast members that were part of BYU’s Theatre Ballet company (ballet company), BYU’s Dancer’s Company (modern dance company), BYU’s Ballroom Dance Team (ballroom dance company), and a former Cougarette dancer (BYU’s jazz dance company). By having this variety of dancers I was able to complete my task of fusing all dance forms into a Brazilian flavor of rhythm and dance style.
The title for the project being performed on April 13, and 14 of 2007 was Tambores, Sabores, e Amores (Drums, Flavors, and Romance). The choreography was divided into five sections:
Section 1: Samba Elegante (Elegant Samba)
Section 2: Berimbau
Section 3: O Encontro (The Encounter)
Section 4: Alegrias de Mulheres (Joys of Women)
Section 5: Tempero Brasileiro (Brazilian Flavor)
The first section was a performance of the samba danced on pointe (toe shoes). It started out with five female dancers who could dance the samba on pointe, and later, five male dancers joined the ladies. I used traditional Brazilian samba as well as International Latin Ballroom Samba Style. There was a projection of the beach on the background for this section. Through using the style of movement chosen for this section, I was able to state that even though samba is from Brazil, samba has been taught and danced by many other cultures, including the US, in Ballroom Competitions.
The second section was performed by five men only. This section was about the strength of the Brazilian men. The movement used for this section was modern dance and capoeira (a Brazilian martial art, and dance). I had a special guest for this section. He is capoeira instructor and BYU student. At the beginning of the piece he played the instrument called Berimbau, which is played in the capoeira events. He then came back on stage and performed capoeira movement amongst the other five male dancers on stage. This section was also about slavery, and about the freedom that Brazilians and African Americans now enjoy.
The third section was performed by a lady and a gentleman, illustrating a love story. I used the famous song, entitled “Girl from Ipanema,” composed by the Brazilian artist, Tom Jobim. This section portrayed the romance that is a common fact in any and every culture.
The fourth section was performed by seven female dancers who represented the joy of being women. The movement used was jazz and modern. This section portrayed the strength and femininity of the Brazilian women.
The fifth section was a celebration of the Brazilian culture in general. The dancers used props to represent the way Brazilians live. There was an image of a historical city of Brazil on the background for this section. The entire cast performed in this section.
Throughout the process I decided that I should be one of the cast members. By doing so, I found many challenges. However, I found that by rehearsing with my cast members, helped me have the energy that I needed to continue with choreographic inspiration, and at the same time, helped them have a visualization of what the movement was supposed to look like. And as one of my cast members said, “When you dance with us, it helps us have the energy and artistic qualities that your choreography requires, Aurora.”
I definitely found many challenges as I progressed with the project. For instance, finding proper and modest costumes, finding appropriate images for the background, finding time and space for rehearsals, having all of the cast members for rehearsals (instead of 70% of them in some rehearsals), finding the capoeira dancer, and so forth.
I must mention that with the help of my mentor, Catherine Black, I was able to truly make this dream project come true. She helped me find solutions, she gave me suggestions, she inspired me and my cast members, she encouraged us; she truly mentored the project.
I have much to be grateful for. The project was a success, and I am deeply grateful for the results. The theatre was filled up for both nights, and I feel that the audience members were able to get a sense of multiculturalism and dance fusion after watching the show. I truly hope that through this project, BYU was able to experience another culture through the art of dance. Let us continue to appreciate our differences, because we are all brothers and sisters, children of the same Father